'''Maud Bagshaw'''<ref>[https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=640580739765706| Downton Abbey Movie Clip]: "Maud Bagshaw is coming to Downton?"</ref> (nee '''Crawley'''), '''Baroness Bagshaw'''<ref>She is announced to the Queen as "The Lady Bagshaw", which is how a Baroness is announced verbally.</ref> is a lady in waiting to [[Mary of Teck|Queen Mary]]. She and her maid, [[Lucy (film)|Lucy Smith]], accompany the [[King George V|King]] and Queen when they visit [[Downton Abbey]] in [[Downton Abbey (film)|1927]].

'''Maud Bagshaw'''<ref>[https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=640580739765706| Downton Abbey Movie Clip]: "Maud Bagshaw is coming to Downton?"</ref> (nee '''Crawley'''), '''Baroness Bagshaw'''<ref>She is announced to the Queen as "The Lady Bagshaw", which is how a Baroness is announced verbally.</ref> is a lady in waiting to [[Mary of Teck|Queen Mary]]. She and her maid, [[Lucy (film)|Lucy Smith]], accompany the [[King George V|King]] and Queen when they visit [[Downton Abbey]] in [[Downton Abbey (film)|1927]].

Contents

Biography

Background

Maud is a cousin of Robert's late father.[5] Specifically, her father was Robert's great uncle and she apparently inherited the "Granby Estate", once belonging to the Crawleys, from him. Her husband and father are deceased.[6] Her husband, David, died in the Boer Wars. He was--in her words--not a bad man, but not a clever one either.

She had an affair with her husband's army servant, Jack Smith, with whom she fell passionately in love and had 10 happy years together. At age 39 she became pregnant, much to her surprise as she thought she had been barren. She couldn't tell her father, so she hid her pregnancy by traveling to America. Jack raised their child before his death.

1927

She is estranged from the rest of the Crawley family, and when informed by the Queen they will be stopping at Downton on their tour of Yorkshire, Maud asks if she could go to Harewood House directly, skipping over Downton. The Queen however suggest to her that she try and mend things with her relations.

Maud has a past acquaintance with Violet Crawley, whom she meets upon her arrival. She sits next to Tom Branson at lunch, expressing concern over the comfort of her maid, telling Tom (who met Lucy upon her arrival) she thinks of Lucy as much more than a servant. She says the same to Violet and Edith after waving to Lucy and referring to her by her first name instead of her surname.

Violet later visits Maud in her room, with Lucy present. She inquires if Maud is comfortable, and inquires about having a chat later. Maud promises Violet to "have it out once and for all" before leaving to attend to the queen.

After dinner, Maud declares that even though Robert is her closest relation on her father's side, she will not name him heir to her estate. Instead, she declares she will leave everything to Lucy, infuriating Violet. Maud insists Lucy has taken care of her for years and that she wishes to show her gratitude.

When Maud returns to her room, she finds Isobel waiting for her, wanting a word. Isobel has worked out that Lucy is in fact Maud's daughter, and asks if Lucy knows this. Maud confirms that she told Lucy when she turned eighteen, having previously hired her as a servant to protect her identity. Maud says she loved Lucy's father, Jack Smith, but regrets not marrying him out of "cowardice" and feels that by naming Lucy her heir she has taken the first step. Isobel insists Violet will oppose her wishes no longer if Maud tells her the truth.

Later, at Harewood, Isobel arranges a meeting where Maud tells Violet the truth. She mentions that when she goes home, she will hire a new maid so Lucy can be her "companion" (which Violet says is more "suitable"), and that Lucy will be corresponding with Tom. She tells Violet she is amazing but that she hasn't won. Violet responds that she doesn't believe in defeat, but invites her and Lucy back to Downton after the Yorkshire tour is over to sort things out, calling Lucy by her first name for the first time. Maud takes this as a sign that she is a member of the family once more. Violet remarks to Isobel afterward that she now aims to get Maud's estate for Tom, which is why they need Lucy back.

Tom later gives Maud a hankerchief Lucy brought her as an excuse to see the dancing, before heading off to find Lucy himself.